When I was born, my parents had one thought: let her be whoever she wants to be. I don’t think they could have ever given me a better gift.

My parents weren’t nervous when I wanted to play t-ball instead of softball. They weren’t afraid when I always wanted the blue scissors in preschool or when I wore jeans and a Yankees jersey to elementary school whenever I could. Even later in life, when I was in high school and still played with the boys in rec baseball, my parents always had my back.

They knew that I wasn’t a typical girl; when I was young, all of my girl friends were worried about what outfit matched their purses. I was simply consumed with whom I would pick first to be on my kickball team that day. I was a tomboy from the start, and my parents supported every decision I made along the way.

I guess my message here is to simply let your children be who they want to be. When I was a kid, I was very opinionated and wasn’t afraid of letting people know that I wasn’t a girl that you could mess with. Kids can be really mean, and even though I tried to have a tough exterior, sometimes they would make fun of the way I dressed or how I acted and it really got to me. Whenever I started to doubt who I was, my parents were always right there to remind me.

I am who I am today because of the love and support that my parents gave me as a child. I wouldn’t be nearly as comfortable in my own skin had it not been for them reminding me that it was okay to be who I was. It was okay to wear work boots with my dress. It was okay to play kickball at recess instead of hand games. It was okay to be a tomboy.

I’m still a tomboy at heart, there’s no doubt about that. But I have become more mature with my age and no longer feel the need to scream to the world that I like baseball and working out when all of my friends like makeup and clothes. I dress like a girl and act like a girl, because I am indeed a girl. However, due to the love and support that my parents have shown me for all twenty years of my life, I am a girl who is not afraid of the world. I am a girl who is comfortable in her own skin. I am a girl who is confident and happy with whom she has become, and I don’t think I can ever begin to thank my parents enough for that. My disposition and personality stem from my parents, as everyone says I’m exactly like them. If I could have handpicked who my parents would be, I’d pick Debbie and Joel every time. Honestly, I don’t think I could ever be luckier if I tried.